Referring to a most conventional configuration of a sliding frame (within which a panel such as a glass window is installed) and a window frame (which is installed in a rectangular loop shape so that the sliding frame is installed therein) which constitute a sliding window system, such as a horizontally sliding window or a horizontally sliding door, the window frame provided with a guide rail (guide way), which serves as a guide when a moving window is slid, is installed in a rectangular loop shape in a wall of a building, a roller is installed outside of the sliding frame such that the moving window can be smoothly moved along the guide rail installed on the window frame, and the sliding frame having a cross-section structure, inside of which a panel, such as a glass or a sheet material, is installed, is installed inside of the window frame.
However, with such a conventional and simple configuration, it is usually difficult to expect an excellent performance in connection with a soundproof property, an airtight property (windbreak property), a watertight property, a heat insulation property, a wind pressure resistance property, or the like. When a sealing member, such as windbreak hair (mohair) or windbreak gasket, is attached between the window frame and the sliding frame in order to make up for such shortcomings, the performance may be enhanced. However, due to the limitation in a sealing method, the sealing member, such as the windbreak hair or the windbreak rubber, does not provide a high sealing effect. Furthermore, since the sealing member is deformed or worn out as time goes on, it is difficult to maintain the performance constantly.
As a prior art developed in order to make up for the shortcomings of a sliding window system having the above-described conventional structure, a lift and sliding (“LS”) type open/close structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In a case where the moving window 4 is slid as illustrated in FIG. 1, when a handle 4h of a moving window 4 is rotated, a force pushing a roller 4h at the lower side of the moving window 4 is applied by a mechanism utilizing the principles of the lever and fulcrum. Then, the moving window 4 is wholly moved up from a lower guide rail 1b by a reaction force of the roller 4r seated on a lower guide rail 1b of the window frame (see the partial enlarged view in the “D” portion in FIG. 1. As a result, a lower sealing member 3b which has been in contact with the window frame 1 to maintain a hermetically sealed state, such as a rubber gasket, is spaced apart from the window frame 1 and thus the sliding movement of the moving window 4 may be smoothed. In addition, in a state where the movement is completed as illustrated in FIG. 2, when the handle 4h of the moving window 4 is rotated in the opposite direction, the roller 4r is returned to the inside of the lower frame of the moving window 4 and thus the sliding frame 4 is wholly moved down (see the partial enlarged view in the “D” portion in FIG. 2. As a result, the lower sealing member 3b, such as the rubber gasket, is compressed to seal a lower gap between the bottom of the moving window 4 and the window frame 1.
At this time, the sealing of a gap between the top of the moving window 4 and the top of the window frame 1 will be understood when comparing partial enlarged views in the “U” portions in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the moving window 4 is lifted upward and slid, an upper sealing member 3u installed on an upper frame of the moving window 4 is spaced apart from an upper guide rail 1a installed at the underside of the top portion of the window frame 1, and when the moving window 4 is moved down, the upper sealing member 3u comes in contact with the upper guide rail 1a in a sealing manner.
It will be understood that in portions between vertical frames of the window frame and the sliding frame, when comparing the partially enlarged views in the “L” portions and in the “R” portions in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the horizontal sliding of the moving window 4 is completed and the window is fully closed, side sealing member 4s such as rubber gaskets are compressed to exhibit a sealing performance.
However, the “LS” type open/close structure as described above has problems as follows. The sliding frame having heavy-weighted components related to the roller installed at the lower portion of the moving window should be moved up or down in order to open or close the moving window, which is mechanically disadvantageous due to concentrated loads applied to the roller portion, and an apparatus that should frequently conduct the functions of moving the moving window up and down as described above requires endurable high-performance components. In addition, when the size of the sliding frame exceeds a certain range, it may be difficult to overcome the burden of the weights of the enlarged sliding frame and glass window. Thus, there is a problem in that an applicable size of the sliding frame is limited.
Furthermore, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in a single sliding frame, sealing principles and directions, i.e. sealing methods, are different from each other at the bottom side, lateral sides and top side, respectively, without uniformity. Thus, it is not easy to secure a complete sealing performance at corner portions of the sliding frame and the window frame where the different sealing methods meet. Further, it is difficult to achieve a complete sealing at the top side of the sliding frame since the sealing performance at the top side should be secured only by a small force that causes the upper sealing member 3u to be elastically in close contact with the upper guide rail 1a. In particular, it is also difficult to block the heat transfer through the upper guide between the inside and outside areas.
As an example, FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate a sliding window system provided with the “LS” type open/close structure as described in which a window frame and a sliding frame may be made of an aluminum alloy material as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5. In such a case, the window frame 1 includes an inner frame 1a and an outer frame 1b which are made of an aluminum alloy material with a high heat conductivity, and a thermal break 1c configured to interconnect the inner and outer frames and made of a synthetic resin material. The window frame 1 is installed in a rectangular loop shape in a wall of a building. Within the window frame 1, a fixed window 2 and a moving window 4 are installed in which each of the fixed window 2 and the moving window 4 includes an inner frame 2a or 4a and an outer frame 2b or 4b which are made of an aluminum allow material with a high heat conductivity, and a thermal break 2c or 4c configured to interconnect the inner and outer frames and made of a synthetic resin material.
FIG. 3 illustrates sectional views of the moving window 4 in a state where the moving window 4 is slid to be closed (upper portion) and in a state where the moving window 4 is slid to be opened (lower portion). FIG. 4 illustrates, as a sectional view taken along line A-A′, a state in which a door locking operation is conducted from the state where the moving window 4 is slid and closed as illustrated in the upper portion of FIG. 3, and thus the moving window 1 is moved downward so that the upper sealing member 3u and the lower sealing member 3b are contacted with the thermal break 1c in the widthwise central portion of the window frame 1 in a sealing manner. FIG. 5 illustrates, as a sectional view taken along line A-A′, a state in which the moving window 1 is lifted above the roller 4r and moved from the state where the moving window 4 is slid and opened (a door-unlocking operation is conducted) as illustrated in the lower portion of FIG. 3, and thus the upper sealing member 3u and the lower sealing member 3b are not contacted with the thermal break 1c in the widthwise central portion of the window frame 1.
Here, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a thermal insulation line “INS” interconnecting the thermal break 4c installed in the widthwise central portion of the moving window 4 and the thermal break 1c installed in the widthwise central portion of the window frame 1 is formed in a substantially linear direction so that the length of the thermal insulation line “INS” itself is formed to be short. In addition, since the thermal break 1c installed in the widthwise central portion of the window frame 1 has a structure directly contacting with external air (“air”) as illustrated in FIG. 4, it exhibits very limited thermal insulation effect between the inside and outside of the window. Furthermore, in view of the state in which the roller 4r is installed within the inner frame 4a of the lower frame of the moving window 4, it is unavoidable to arrange the thermal break 4c adjacent to the roller 4r. However, this is rather disadvantageous in providing support rigidity because the frame supporting the roller 4r is cut. In addition, as illustrated along line K-K′ in FIG. 3, the materials that form the moving window 4 are formed, from the outside toward the inside, by an outer member 4b made of an aluminum alloy material, an intermediate thermal break 4c made of a synthetic resin, and an inner frame 4a made of an aluminum alloy material which are interconnected with each other. Thus, it is difficult to provide a separate rigid frame capable of improving the longitudinal rigidity of the entire frame of the moving window 4. Thus, there is a problem in that when the window is enlarged, there is no means that may provide sufficient endurance against wind pressure.
As a prior art proposed so as to overcome the shortcomings of the sliding window system provided with the “LS” type open/close structure described above, a moving window open/close apparatus of a sliding window system is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0729222 issued on Jun. 19, 2007. Hereinafter, the moving window open/close apparatus of the sliding window system configured as described in the patent publication will be described.
Hereinbelow, a conventional moving window open/close apparatus of a sliding window system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 13.
As illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, a moving window open/close apparatus of a sliding window system is configured such that a moving window 40 is movable along an upper rail 11a and a lower rail 11b installed in a window frame 10, and in a rail guide assembly 41a, 42a above an upper frame 40a of the moving window, the rail 41a is engaged with the upper rail 11a and in the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b below the lower frame 40b of the moving window, the roller 41b is engaged with the lower rail 11b. In addition, the upper frame 40a of the moving window 40 is movably mounted on the rail guide assembly 41a, 42a on the upper frame 40a of the moving window 40, and the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40 is movably mounted on the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b below the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40. Specifically, when an open/close operation unit (depicted by reference numeral “50” in FIG. 10) installed on a side frame (depicted by reference numeral “40s” in FIG. 10) of the moving window 40 is operated, the upper frame 40a and the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40 are configured to include a displacement component orthogonal to the rail travel direction of the rails 11a and 11b of the window frame 10, thereby being moved in the back and forth direction (depicted by reference numerals “CL” and “OP” in FIG. 6). In addition, a sealing member 30 made of an elastic material is interposed between the window frame 10 (or a fixed window (depicted by reference numeral “20” in FIG. 7) and the moving window 40 so that the sealing member 30 entirely receives the same pressure in the direction perpendicular thereto by the movement of the moving window 40.
Hereinafter, a detailed configuration causing the moving window 40 to move in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction of the rails 11a and 11b and an operation principle thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a main portion of the moving window before the moving window is moved in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction, FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the main portion of the moving window after the moving window is moved in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction to compress the sealing member, and FIGS. 9a and 9b are vertical section views illustrating an opened state before the moving window is moved in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction (FIG. 9a) and a closed state after the moving window is moved in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction (FIG. 9b).
As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b is pushed by a moving force Fp including a component parallel to the rail travel direction of the lower rail 11b, the moving force Fb is divided into two component forces, i.e. a horizontal component force Fh and a vertical component force Fv by an inclined connection structure of an inclined guide slot 43b, which is formed to be inclined (by a set angle in relation to the longitudinal direction of the lower rail when viewed on a plan view) on the plate 42b positioned at the upper side in the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b, and a guide protrusion 44b, which is formed to protrude downward from the bottom surface of the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40. At this time, the direction of the vertical component force Fv acting in a direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction is changed to the opposite direction because the roller 41b positioned at the lower side of in the roller unit assembly 41b and 42b is restrained not to turn aside in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction of the lower rail 11b so that the roller 41b cannot be displaced in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction. The reaction force which has the same magnitude as the vertical component force but is directed opposite to the vertical component force acts to move the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40 by the width D of the inclined guide slot 43b in the back and forth direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction. Using the moving action in the back and forth direction is a main principle of the moving window open/close apparatus of the sliding window system which is the prior art.
Meanwhile, FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a main portion of an exemplary embodiment of an open/close operation unit in the moving window open/close apparatus of the sliding window system as described above, FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a main configuration of FIG. 10 and an operating state of the main portion thereof, and FIG. 12 is a view illustrating states before and after the moving window is moved in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rail in the moving window open/close apparatus of the sliding window system to which the open/close operation unit of FIG. 10 is applied.
In particular, FIGS. 10 to 12 exemplify one open/close operation unit for specifically implementing the operation principle of the prior art illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 9. Various application examples for such an open/close operation unit are the prior arts disclosed in the Korean patents filed and issued in the name of the present applicant, that is Korean Patent No. 10-0729222 (corresponding to PCT Publication No. WO 2007/075075) described above, Korean Patent No. 10-0671256 (corresponding to PCT Publication No. WO 2007/139354) issued on Jan. 19, 2007, and Korean Patent No. 10-0729223 (corresponding to PCT Publication No. WO 2007/139355) issued on Jun. 19, 2007. One of the application examples corresponds to the sliding-type open/close operating unit 50 illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. Specifically, the sliding-type open/close operating unit 50 includes: a side sliding bar 50s installed in a vertical direction on a side frame of a moving window 40 to be vertically movable; a rotation handle 50h installed to apply an operation force for moving the side sliding bar 50s vertically; a gear mechanism 50L, 50P installed to convert a rotation movement of the rotation handle 50h to a vertical reciprocal movement of the side sliding bar 50s; elastic sliders 51s, each of which is installed at a corner to be connected to an upper or lower end of the side sliding bar 50s and transfer the reciprocal movement to an upper or lower portion of the moving window 40; upper and lower sliding bars 51a and 51b installed horizontally at the upper and lower portions of the moving window 40 to be interlocked with the elastic sliders 51s; and connecting rod members 52a and 52b configured to link the upper and lower sliding bars 51a and 51b to the lower plate 42a of the rail guide assembly and the upper plate 42b of the roller unit assembly, respectively. In the case of the open/close operation unit illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the rotation handle 50h is operated, horizontal displacements produced in the lower plate 42a of the rail guide assembly and the upper plate 42b of the roller unit assembly of the moving window act in the opposite directions, unlike the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11. Thus, the directions of upper and lower inclined guide slots 43a1 and 43a2, 43b1 and 43b2 are opposite to each other, and the initial positions of guide protrusions 44a and 44b fitted to the inclined guide slots 43a1 and 43a2, 43b1 and 43b2, respectively, are opposite to each other.
However, according to the prior art provided with the above-described structure, when the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b is pushed by a moving force Fp including a component parallel to the rail travel direction of the lower rail 11b, the above-described reaction force acts between the roller 41b and the lower rail 11b by the vertical component force Fv acting in the direction orthogonal to the rail travel direction. Consequently, the reaction force also may act as a large frictional force between the roller and the rail and may disturb the movement of the roller which is to be traveled along the rail by the horizontal component force Fh. That is, even if the roller unit assembly is pushed using the open/close operation unit, the roller may not be moved due to the frictional force which may be generated between the roller and the rail by the above-described reaction force.
In addition, in view of the fact that the weight of the moving window 40 applied to a system type window is remarkably larger than the weight of a moving window applied to an ordinary window due to a configuration of the open/close unit 50 or the like, a large frictional resistance is applied between the lower frame 40b of the moving window 40 and the upper plate 42b of the roller unit assembly 41b, 42b during the vertical movement of the moving window 40, which may be an obstacle to the smooth vertical movement of the moving window 40.